I have fallen in love with the book, Yoga for Children, by Lisa Flynn. Here’s why:

1. Good introductory info

The beginning of the book outlines what yoga is and the benefits of yoga for kids. It also has developmentally appropriate activities based on age range and a list of props and toys for yoga. It provides a good foundation before moving into actually doing yoga with kids. Invaluable for a new kids yoga teacher, or a parent that wants to do yoga with their kids.

2. Doesn’t water down yoga for kids

Includes core principles of yoga and how to teach them to children using yoga, storybooks, and discussion points. Not all children's yoga resources do this!

3. Wonderful mindfulness and meditation ideas to do with kids.

Contains many original mindfulness ideas that I’ve never thought of or seen elsewhere. Mindfulness is such an important aspect of yoga, and it’s nice to see this section in the front of the book before the asana section.

4. Tons of yoga poses, all listed in ABC order so they are easy to find.

Each pose includes the benefits of the pose along with prompts of “what to do” and “what to say” when teaching the pose. The “what to say” section truly captures the essence of kids yoga with imaginative prompts and child-friendly language.

5. Great pictures.

Each pose has a simple and sweet photo of a child doing yoga, all in full color.

6. A whole section on partner poses.

Kids LOVE partner poses. There are some fun ones in this book that I’ve never taught before.

7. Fun games

Lots of fun games that could be used in group yoga classes or family yoga classes.

8. Songs for yoga

This is a fun section of songs, some set to classic children’s tunes, that include yoga poses and flows.

9. Great section on relaxation and visualization

Fun ideas on transitioning into relaxation as well as beautiful guided imagery for visualization. I was also humbled to find that my book, Imaginations, was included as a resource in this section. What a nice surprise to find as I was reading the book!

10. Yoga flows for kids

There is a whole section on “Putting It All Together” filled with sequences of the poses. Each one has a length of time and an age range, making this section very useful for kids yoga teachers when lesson planning, or for a parent to follow along with.

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I’ve been teaching yoga for over a decade, and I thought that I had every wonderful kids yoga book out there. This resource is something, though, that the children’s yoga world has needed- an encyclopedia of essential kids yoga poses, games, breathing, and mindfulness techniques, that is brimming with new ideas and techniques to try. I'm going to pull this book out anytime I need some new inspiration. It’s like the “Light on Yoga” for children’s yoga.